Tobacco curing apparatus



Dec. 5, 1950 J. E. CHESTNUTT 2,533,092

TOBACCO CURING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 26, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 John E. Chestnut! INVENTOR.

Dec. 5, 1950 J. E. CHESTNUTT TOBACCO CURING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 26, 1950 John E. Chest/10H INVENTOR.

BY W

Patented Dec. 5, 1950 TOBACCO CURING APPARATUS John E. Chestnutt, Richmond, Va.

Application January 26, 1950, Serial No. 140,589

4 Claims.

' controlled touniformly heat the air in the barn to a predetermined temperature.

A heating means embodying the present invention includes an open-top combustion chamber in which a heating flame is produced by a gun type oil burner having its burner nozzle extended through one side of said chamber, a hood supported over said chamber and having a circular series of uniformly spaced lateral outlets at the top, the lower portion of said hood being disposed in spaced surrounding relation to the upper portion of said chamber to admit the air to be heated by the burner, similar horizontal flues radiating from and having their inner ends connected to the outlets of the hood and having upturned outer discharge ends, deflectors supported by and disposed over the discharge ends of said flues, and a horizontal baflle supported within the hood between the combustion chamber and said outlets to direct the flame and products of combustion from said chamber outwardly in the hood to the incoming air for efiectively heating the latter.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description when considered with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a horizontal section taken through a barn equipped with a heating means embodying the present invention, said heating means being shown in top plan.

Figure 2 is a vertical section through the lower portion of the barn, showing the heating means in elevation and with certain flues removed.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section, partly broken away, taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a horizontal section through the hood, taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section, taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a horizontal section taken on the line 66 of Figure 3.

Referring in detail to the drawings, 5 indie cates a tobacco barn within which tobacco is adapted to be suspended in the usual manner. An open top combustion chamber 6, having a refractory lining I, is disposed centrally of and within the lower portion of the barn'and is preferably'set in a recess provided in the barn floor as shown. A housing 8 having a removable cover 9 is disposed near and at one side of the chamber 6 and is also preferably set in a recess provided in the barn floor. Mounted within the housing 8 is the motor-driven blower In of a gun type oil burner whose burner nozzle I I extends through a side of the housing 8 and projects into the chamber 6 through the adjacent side of the latter. Fuel oil is supplied to the burner through a pipe I2 from a tank (not shown) located outside the barn, and air for the burner is supplied to' the housing 8 through a pipe I3 that extends to a point outside the barn. Posts I4 are mounted about the chamber 6 and support a cylindrical hood I5 above the latter with the lower portion of said hood disposed in spaced surrounding relation to the upper portion of said chamber to admit air to be heated by the burner. The hood has a circular series of uniformly spaced radial or lateral outlet nipples I6 at the top, and the inner ends of similar horizontal or radial flues I! are connected to these nipples. The flues have upwardly extending outer discharge ends I8, and inverted conical deflectors I9 are supported over these ends of the flues by brackets to spread the heated air discharged from the flues. The flues are held in place by outwardly inclined guy members or rods 2| having their inner ends connected to a plate 22 mounted on the upper end of a post 23 fixed to and extending upwardly from the top of the hood I5, and having their outer ends connected to bands 24 clamped about the flues near their outer ends. A horizontal baffle 25 is supported by the posts I4 centrally of and within the hood between the top of the combustion chamber 6 and the outlet nipples I6 to direct the flame and products of combustion from the burner outwardly in the hood to the incoming air for effectively heating the latter. In practice, it will be apparent that the air in the barn will be circulated so as to pass into the hood for being heated and to then be discharged upwardly from the flues at spaced points within the barn while being spread laterally to evenly heat the tobacco. As the air cools, it returns to the lower portion of the barn and passes into the hood for being reheated. By thermostatically controlling the turner in a conventional way, the desired temperature may be attained and maintained within the barn.

Secured on the inner surface of the hood between the baflie 25 and the nipples I6 is an annular water trough 26 having a filling spout 2? located outside the hood and provided with a hinged lid 28. Water supplied to this trough will desirably moisten the heated air in its passage to the flues. Excess heated air and smoke may be conducted from the hood to the exterior of the barn through a damper-controlled conduit 29 having an end portion 33 opening within and extended about the inner surface of the hood between the top of chamber 6 and the'baffle 25-. The portion 3!] acts as a radiator for heating the air passing upwardly to the outlet nipples [3.

From the foregoing description, the construction, operation and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Having described the invention, What is claimed as new is:

'1, .A tobacco barn heater comprising an open- .top combustion*chamberadapted to be positioned centrally of and within the lower portion of the barn, an :oil burner havinga burner nozzleextending into said combustion chamber through 'one side thereof, a hood supported over said chamber and having a circular series of uniformlyspacedradial outlets at the top,:the lower por tion'ofsaid hood being disposed inspaced surrroundingrelation to the upper portion ofsaid combustion chamber, horizontal flues radiating from'and-having their inner ends connected to the outlets-0f saidhood, said fiues having upwardly 'directed outer ends, inverted conical deifiectors' supported'on and disposed over the outer ends .of said fines, and a horizontal battle central'ly disposed and "supported within the hood below "said outlets and. :above the "combustion chamber.

2; A'tobacco barn heater comprising antopentop combustion chamber adapted to be positioned centrallyof and within the lower portion of the barn, an oil burner having a burner nozzle extending into said combustion chamber through one side thereof, a hood supported over said chamberand having a circular series of uniformly spaced radial outlets at the -:top, the lower'portion of said'hoodbeing'disposed inspaced surrounding relation to the'upper portion of said combustionchamber, horizontal flu'es radiating from and having their innerends connected to the outlets of said hood, said fiues having upwardly directed outer ends, deflectors supported guy members connected to and extending between from and-having their inner ends connected to the outlets of said hood, said flues having upwardly'directed outer ends, inverted conical de flectors supported on and disposed over the outer ends of said flues, and a horizontal baffle centrally disposed and supported within the hood below said outlets and above'the combustion chamber,

and :a water trough ontheinside of the hood between-said outlets and the top oi-said combustion chamber, said trough having a filling spout extending outside thehood.

4. Atobacco barn heater comprising'an opentop combustion chamber'adapted to-be positioned centrally of and within the-lower portion of the barn, anoil burner'having a burnernozzle extending into said combustion chamber through one side thereof, a hood supported over said chamber and having a-circular-seriesof uniformlyaspaced-radialoutlets at the top, the lower portion of said hood beingdisposed in spaced-surrounding relation to .the upperportion of said combustion chamber, horizontal 'flues radiating from andhaving their inner ends connected-to the outiets of said hood, said 'flues having upwardly directed outer ends, inverted conical deflectors supportedon and disposed over the outer ends of said flues, a horizontal bailie centrally disposed andsupported within the hood below said outlets andabove the combustion chamber, and a smokepipe adapted to haveits outer end extend outsidethe-barn and having an inner end portion extending about the inside surface of the hood at av point between said outlets andthe top of the combustion chamber.

JOHN E. CHESTNU'I'I.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record inthe file of this'patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 226,517 Hughes Apr. 13,1880 1,667,512 Cruikshank Apr. 24, 1928 2,114,942 Sugg Apr. 19, 1938 2,216,075 Henderson Sept. 24, 1940 2,288,083 Gainey June 30,1942 

